A 15 percent U.S. tariff on imports from Nigeria will take effect on Thursday, but Nigeria appears largely unfazed, with its sights set on regional and alternative markets.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, and what will be Nigeria’s first official response since the tariff was announced, Jumoke Oduwole, Nigeria’s minister of trade, described the U.S.–Nigeria trade relationship as “mostly an energy trading relationship,” citing efforts to strengthen other trade channels.
“There are other markets. The world is a big place.” Oduwole said. “We’re looking at our integration strategy across Africa with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Non-oil exports to the rest of Africa are up 24 percent year-on-year in Q1 this year.”
The tone has shifted after a few months. In April, when Trump had initially placed a 14 percent tariff on Nigeria, Oduwole spoke of effects that included “destabilising challenges to price competitiveness and market access” for Nigerian businesses in the non-oil sector.
The country is now bullish on its options. The trade minister told CNN that she acknowledges the competitiveness of the US market but is “also exploring other alternatives.”
These alternatives include non-oil exports to the Global South and Asia.
“Urea fertiliser is in high demand in Brazil. We have trading partnerships with China, with Japan, with the UAE and so we continue to look for opportunities for our Nigerian businesses,” Oduwole stated.
She said the U.S. remains a strategic partner, but Nigeria’s commercial investment strategy is focused on infrastructure, agriculture and digital trade.
“We do have old friends, and we certainly are making new friends,” said its trade minister.
When Trump suspended tariff in April, he opened the door to the negotiation room, one Nigeria did not walk into. And with a trade surplus of $3.29 billion in its favour, rates were raised.
But there may be further risks. In July, Trump threatened to impose an extra 10 percent tariff on countries aligned with the BRICS bloc, including Nigeria, which became the ninth partner country of BRICS in January 2025.
There is still uncertainty over whether oil and gas trade, which accounts for the majority of Nigeria’s export commodities to America and 90 percent of the country’s foreign exchange, will be excluded as they were in the earlier April announcement.
